The start of the end for Realtor.com?

Well, if you haven’t seen the late afternoon news wires yet, let me be the first to tell you Zillow just hired Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com and chief strategy officer for parent company Move, Inc. Errol will take on the role of Chief Industry Development Officer and will report to Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff.

A Mask Sounds the Death Knell – To Edgar Poe 1882

Some of you may recall that I once held a similar industry relations position at Zillow. Some of you may recall that I was charged with improving the business to business ties between MLSs and Zillow, particularly the effort to secure direct data feeds from MLSs to improve the quality and timeliness of the listing content on Zillow. Still others may reflect on the disappointment I expressed in being unable to accomplish that mission when I left last summer. So now some of you are likely drooling in anticipation of my advice to Errol upon taking up a similar charge. Dream on, dreamers. The road ahead will still be challenging, and will still require compromises from both sides of the MLS/Data/Zillow equation. But there isn’t a smarter strategist in the industry than Errol Samuelson. If anyone can navigate those treacherous waters, he can. And I wish him nothing but success in his efforts. (And my compliments to Spencer Rascoff and Greg Schwartz at Zillow for pulling off this coup. Well played, gentlemen. Well played.)

If this executive switch doesn’t sound the death knell for Realtor.com, I can’t imagine what it would take. Rcom has been slipping in the traffic totals for months and in some measurement services is now fourth behind Zillow, Trulia, and Homes. But traffic isn’t the problem at Realtor.com. It’s politics. Errol has been an ardent champion and exemplary spokesperson for the Rcom effort. Errol has now seen the light and made the decision to change allegiances. That cannot portend well for Move’s chances for success if it stays on the current path with the current fence-straddling strategies guided by mother NAR.

As I pointed out in a previous post back in December, it really is time for both Move and NAR to reconsider the purpose of Realtor.com and the ongoing strained relationship between the two. If NAR isn’t ready to take back Rcom and operate it as a member service and public relations website supporting its political activities, then maybe Move should force the decision by just giving the website back to NAR and going its own way with Move.com as the lead URL and without all the continuing restraints that keep it from being truly competitive with the top players.

I’ve got a few other thoughts on some things Move might try. But I think I’ll keep them in reserve just in case Steve Berkowitz calls and wants to invite me in for a chat.

About Bob Bemis

• Formerly VP Business Development – Realtors Property Resource (RPR) division of Natl. Assn. of Realtors (NAR) (October 2015 to February 2018) • Formerly VP Partner Relations – Zillow (February 2012 to July 2013) • Named by Inman News as "100 Most Influential Leaders in Real Estate" for 2011 and 2013 • CEO - Arizona Regional MLS, Tempe, AZ (October 2007 to February 2012) • Representative on the NAR’s MLS Issues and Policy Committee; served on Presidential Advisory Group studying IDX use in Social Media • Formerly a Director on the board of the Council of Multiple Listing Services, a national association of MLSs • Formerly Interim president of the MLS Domains Association, an organization seeking to acquire the Dot.MLS top level domain for exclusive use by MLS systems • Vice President of Customer Care for MRIS, in Washington DC/Baltimore (2001-2007)

Not so fast my friend. Under Errol’s watch realtor.com went from number one in traffic to where they are now. It has been no secret that he has lacked the innovation and forward thinking that realtor.com has been known for. But hey, if you are Zillow and realtor.com is still generating more leads than you and the conversion rate of their leads is still substantially higher than yours, I guess your next best option is to hire one of their executives. And I love how your first comment is from Zillow’s CEO. I wonder if that cost as much as Mr. Samuelsson’s first annual salary.

But, your article would have a lot more credibility if it didn’t reek with the stench of your one sided partisanship.

I did leave Zillow after 18 months. But from what I’m reading, Errol’s position is much broader than mine was. I concentrated almost exclusively on relationships with MLSs, and later brokers. Errol is tackling the full B-2-B product line.
And you’re right in your comment about Curt. No better person in the industry to represent the company to the Realtor World. A well deserved promotion.

I’ve read this comment multiple times and I can’t for the life of me figure out, from these comments, which side my “one sided partisanship” is supposedly leaning toward – Zillow or Move? So I’ll just ignore it.

Your comment is great.. However you obviously don’t understand the differences among lead generation platforms. From a Realtors standpoint there are massive differences. How do you expect to drum up more business on Realtor.com when they aren’t even relevant on PC anymore. Probably shouldn’t even speak of the mobile traffic.

To think that one man took realtor to the basement it’s in is a vast overstatement. Zillow passed realtor years ago in Consumer traffic. If you sat in a room for five minutes with Spencer Rascoff, Greg Schwartz or Rich Barton you would understand the passion that created the foundation of Zillow & why that passion will never change.

Zillow is thriving because they go in the direction of the consumer. Not shoving banner adds and forced lead generation down the throat of every hopeful buyer or seller.

To keepin’ silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho’ my life was in a rut
“Till I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey” he said “Grab your things
I’ve come to take you home.”Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill

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